Curbside Classic: 1970 Fiat Giannini 500 TV – What’s This All Abarth?

Fiat have always been the Jupiter of Italian carmakers. There were other planets, sure, but none as massive and as all-consuming as the titan of Turin. And within this giant’s gravitational sphere were several satellite marques – Abarth, Autobianchi, Cisitalia, Moretti, Siata… Let’s point our telescopes to one of the lesser moons in this system, the still-extant but relatively discreet (outside of its native land) Giannini.

“But that’s just an old Fiat 500 with fugly wheels on!” I heard someone shout at the back there. In a way, it is. But that’s because we’re only looking at the TV (Turismo Veloce) version – there were many others, and they became increasingly spicy. Kinda like that Hot Ones show. In its native land, the 500 Giannini is one of the more reputable and enduring Etceterini. This term, derived from the latin expression et cetera, describes the myriad of small marques, from artisans to fairly important shops, like Abarth or Siata, that were in the business of making bits for souped up Fiat. Or selling them whole, sometimes with custom bodies.

But first, a word about the company history. Based in Rome, Giannini was initially a general repair shop. In the early ‘20s, they became part of the Itala network and started to dabble in making racers, switching to Fiat in the ‘30s when Itala went under. Giannini’s specialization was in squeezing more power out of small Fiat engines, and they soon made a name for themselves in this niche.

By 1950, Giannini made a deal with race car maker Urania to furnish highly modified 750cc Fiat engines with OHC or DOHC heads. This led to the creation of Giaur (contraction of Giannini and Urania), which was one of the hottest little cars on the track at the time. Some were even bodied as lightweight coupés by Motto for road and rally use.

In 1963, Giannini decided to evolve into their own thing, and under their own name. This bold move must have been prompted by the success of Abarth, which was at their pinnacle at the time. Scorpion-branded cars – all of them Fiat-derived, of course – were winning races and selling very well, but then Fiat had a direct interest in Abarth already by this point.

Giannini, on the other hand, were a completely independent entity, and would remain so. This entailed not stepping on Abarth’s toes too much, and since they were so laser-focused on the Fiat 600 and the 850, Giannini would specialize in the 2-cyl. 500 and eventually develop a sideline into the new FWD 128. That’s not to say that Abarth didn’t work on the 500 (they most certainly did), nor that Giannini never worked on the 850, but the 500 was their steed of choice, the car most associated with their brand.

Beyond the badges, I’m not at all sure what Giannini’s “treatment” fully entailed. Obviously, a twin exhaust was part of it. Other modifications to the tiny air-cooled parallel twin are also said to include the camshaft, some aluminium bits (e.g. the oil sump) for added lightness, a different carburator and improved ignition timing.

The 500 TV was the base Giannini, and as such only had 22hp to play with – the standard Fiat 500 only had 18hp. An extra 4hp is always good to take, especially when there are so few to be found.

You could get something spicier – a little, or a lot, depending on your means. The 590 range seen here wasn’t the limit, either: more variants were available, but only for track use.

Production carried on until 1971 or 1973, depending on sources. Either way, the 500 was on its way out by the early ‘70s, replaced by the 126. And Giannini were quick to provide a kit for those, of course. And so on and so forth until this very day, when the current Fiat 500 Abarth can be fitted with additional bits and pieces from the Roman specialist.

Pretty sure that central huge dial is a later addition (as is the steering wheel). The horizontal speedo means the base car was a 500 L, i.e. the deluxe model, as opposed to the lower trim 500 F.

In the world of ‘60s Etceterini, the Giannini was the only one to really rival Abarth. Today, the Roman specialist shop is chiefly known within Italy’s borders. Foreigners can ogle and drop serious coin for Bandinis, Morettis or Fiat specials by Ghia, Bertone or Vignale, but the Gianninis are usually too low-key to be on their radar.

And the tifosi like it that way. It’s like Italian wine: they tend to export the plonk and keep the really good stuff for their tables. Obviously, someone in Tokyo went on a Roman holiday at some point and brought one back. This is the first and only one I’ve ever seen, whereas there are several Abarth 595s around.

By the way, I haven’t had a chance to call out what this week’s theme was. Some of you might want to hazard a guess… It’s not just about the location of the engine, it’s also about a countdown. The answer will be evident in tomorrow’s post.

 

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